Ortus
Ortus is a heavily-militarized neutral state in Minami Akrufia where Cloy Everett lived before starting on his journey in 'Praxis: The Tale of the Blue Owl'. It is also the home of the fabled 'The Thing In The Darkness'. History Pre-Walter's Rule Before Walter the Eternal and his company took over the land and named it Ortus, the land was full of villages of Taint-Pledged. These villages raided the neighboring states for children which lead to many a retaliation that only ended badly for the combat prowess of the Taint-Pledged was unparalleled. The villages sprung up many millenia ago at the end of Demon Lord Mogdarae el Ustulae's reign. The land was chosen since it was in the middle of many fresh states ripe for raiding. The Taint-Pledged continued their practices unhindered until the Time of Upheavals. As time passed, the enclaves thought of an idea to further enhance the skills of the Taint-Pledged. They would hold 'mock battles' in which a team of Taint-Pledged from one village would wage battle with a team of Taint-Pledged from another village. However, the battles are deadly and only a handful of the winners survive. The losses are not at all paid attention to since their enemies were less than a match for them. Also, the villages tightened their hold upon the Taint-Pledged and made sure no Delinquents/Pledge-breakers escaped. Those who tried were used as live training dummies for other Taint-Pledged. Invasion of Walter's Company (Early Time of Upheavals) The history of the land took a huge turn for the better when Walter the Eternal along with his then companions: Sir Gerald, Sir Malik, Sir Denas and Sir Dietrich as well as a band of hired mercenaries took over a Taint-Pledged village and took any Delinquents/Pledge-breakers under him. All of the enclaves wondered how a random man with a ragtag bunch of misfits managed to subdue a Taint-Pledge village but tightened their defenses anyway. Before long, one by one the Taint-Pledge villages began to fall to Walter's Company. It was then the remaining enclaves realized that Walter had been using deception and acts of love and kindness which were making the Taint-Pledge defect. However, it was too late and Walter's victory was assured but the last of the Taskmasters and Taskmistresses did not give in and decided to take down as many Delinquents/Pledge-breakers as they could. A last stand which weighed heavily on Walter's mind. Walter's Reign (Mid Time of Upheavals) Walter turned the land and the captured villages into a kingdom with him as a monarch. However, one of the first things he did was to recruit an army. It is unknown why he did this but it was actually favored by the remaining Taint-Pledge who still hungered for battle as well as the children of the Delinquents/Pledge-breakers who developed unstable and psychotic personalities because of their parents' broken Spiritus. Some time during King Walter's rule and after the deaths of Sir Gerald and Sir Malik, the eternal king went to a journey to an unknown land and left Sir Dietrich to handle the kingdom for him. He was only gone for months before returning with new companions. However, the expansion of the army was still the main policy well into the Late Time of Upheavals. Trivia * Ortus was named after an upcoming game by Jazza Studios which was to be the sequel to 'Battle for Wayland Keep'. Category:Locations